John R. Rice Quotes of the Week

We are told that "no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son," but only the Father knows when Christ will return! We believe that Christ now, in His exalted and glorious state, knows when He will return. But here I understand Him to claim that while on earth He did not know. If Jesus did not know, it was because He had emptied Himself of the outward evidences and marks of His deity. Certainly it is clear that no man in the world knows or can know when Christ will come and the angels themselves in Heaven do not know. - John R. Rice

In the tribulation time, anybody who is left here, converted in that time and called to preach, might well preach on the signs of Christ's coming. But there are to be no signs until after the rapture, and after we shall be taken to Heaven. - John R. Rice

Currently there is a great turning of heretofore sound Bible teachers to believe that the church must go through the tribulation. They are "restudying prophecy," they say. The simple truth is that they have set so many signs, and then found their prophecies were not fulfilled and Christ did not come, until now many choose to believe that they were right about it being the closing days of the age, but they believe the tribulation time is simply coming on without the rapture, and that saved people will go through the tribulation. In this they sin against the clear Bible teaching of the imminence of Christ's coming. - John R. Rice

How many have accused evangelists of being sensational because they preach on sin, Hell, and judgment! On these, good evangelists ought to create a sensation. But it is infinitely worse to be sensational about simple worldly current events, trying to give them some eternal and prophetic significance beyond what the Bible speaks. That is wrong. - John R. Rice 

This looking for signs, this preaching that we are i the closing days is a discouraging business. It leads people to believe we can have no more great revivals. It leads to defeatism is prayer and labor. It discourages soul winning.
And one terrible result of all this speculation, and theorizing, and sign finding, and date-setting is that great reproach is brought on the blessed scriptural doctrine of the premillennial return of Jesus Christ.
Let us come back to the Bible emphasis, brethren. Let all of us come back and teach and preach again, and warn out own hearts repeatedly that Jesus is coming, that no one knows when, and that we are to solemnly watch and wait and look for His coming as a matter of simple faith because He said to do it. - John R. Rice

Revivals like Pentecost can be had today. I do not mean that today we should be concerned about the miracle of being able to talk in foreign languages. That was an incidental miracle. Jesus did not even mention that that would happen when he gave His instructions in Luke 24:49 and again in Acts 1:4-8. And if we do not need to speak in foreign languages, certainly any foolish and unscriptural jabber in tongues that are unknown to any present would not make a revival such as was had at Pentecost. - John R. Rice

The Scripture does not say that if two people agree to pray for a certain matter their prayer shall be answered, but they are to be agreed as touching what they pray for. That means heart-agreement. When two people have exactly the same burden, feel led of God to pray for the same things, then, manifestly, God's Spirit is back of the prayer. That which untied their hearts makes it so God can honor their prayers. - John R. Rice